1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.2 This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
He is my God, and I trust Him.3 For He will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.4 He will cover you with His feathers.
He will shelter you with His wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor the arrow that flies in the day.6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.7 Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.8 Just open your eyes,
and see how the wicked are punished.

9 If you make the Lord your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,10 no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your home.11 For He will order His angels
to protect you wherever you go.12 They will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.13 You will trample upon lions and cobras;
you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

14 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love Me.
I will protect those who trust in My name.15 When they call on Me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.16 I will reward them with a long life
and give them my salvation.”

In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2) Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3) And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”

4) And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5) And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

6) Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7) And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah’s Commission from the Lord

8) And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9) And he said, “Go, and say to this people:

“‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand;
keep on seeing, but do not perceive.
10) Make the heart of this people dull,
and their ears heavy,
and blind their eyes;
lest they see with their eyes,
and hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
11) Then I said, “How long, O Lord?”
And he said:
“Until cities lie waste
without inhabitant,
and houses without people,
and the land is a desolate waste,
12) and the Lord removes people far away,
and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land.
13) And though a tenth remain in it,
it will be burned again,
like a terebinth or an oak,
whose stump remains
when it is felled.”
The holy seed is its stump.

Why? You are a royal priesthood, a holy nation? More than a conqueror. Temple of the Holy Spirit.

Where did you go when the king said no? You ran to your mama. She said, “It’s okay, he doesn’t know my ways. You’ll be okay. It is not a narrow way! You’re my baby. Just stay with me. You are supposed to be free. Let me tend your wounds. I can’t believe he is so mean. Doesn’t he know your spirit is crushed. Why does he think you must really agree with God? Doesn’t he know about grace? He doesn’t feel loving.”

Got a question for you? Do you want to repeat the thing you say you hate? You are on the way — your family’s way. Is that okay? The standard was too high for them. They settled again. You wanna be one of them that missed the promise because this didn’t seem to match the love that we designed?

We ignored the judgment and told people about positive thinking, good feelings; forgetting that the dove convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Word is repentance. Make way for the King!

Agree with the Tree of Life and you will be free – but only by looking at the One that is cursed on the tree. There is no other way.

The knowledge of good and evil — the other tree — has led to the pity. The perverted compassion. The redefining of love. The redefining of God. All the enemy had to do was make it about you. You lost the promise. Too hard for you.

Don’t feel sorry for the sorry. There is no excuse. He reversed the curse.

Men are made from pain not ease. The standard is Him. It leads to a life of brokenness, mourning, and disappointments. Share the pain. That’s the plan. Do you understand?

You discipline to prepare and prevent not to circumvent. We must go through. Going around leads to going around and around. This is settling for the standard — her norm. If you will raise the bar, you… you raise the bar and then and only then will the resources and fruit meet you. You raise the bar. You are called to be a star! Why would you lower the bar? Resistance will leave a scar.

The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,2 for he has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.

3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in his holy place?4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false
and does not swear deceitfully.5 He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah

7 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.8 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in battle!9 Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory! Selah

]]>Disturb Us, Lordhttp://awakeningfires.com/disturb-us-lord/
Tue, 08 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000http://awakeningfires.com/?p=5906Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
with the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask you to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push back the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

This we ask in the name of our Captain,
Who is Jesus Christ.

Amen!

(attributed to Sir Francis Drake -1577)

]]>Freedom to Runhttp://awakeningfires.com/freedom-to-run/
Fri, 08 Sep 2017 00:29:56 +0000http://awakeningfires.com/?p=4673When God gives you a directive, He is giving you freedom to run! In 2010, God gave Awakening Fires a clear directive; “Bring My presence to the hard places of Macon through prayer, praise and intercession. And when I tell you to, preach.” I have seen freedom expressed in such beautiful ways because of this directive. Early on we saw many hard places throughout Macon and we humbly sought for His presence to come to the people there. Soon after, we began to see that “the hard places” were our own hearts and we desperately sought the Lord for His presence to soften that ground. Now we are seeing that through prayer, praise and intercession He is bringing His presence, through us, to where He wants His name known.

This is who we are….

We are reminded over and over again that it is not about the right program or the best sermon, but about His presence calling us to repentance and changing us. Programs often produce constraints and constraints prohibit freedom. His presence is changing us. His presence is changing others. His presence WILL change this city! He has given us the freedom to run and I am going to run! Will you join me? Our House of Prayer is open, come pray with us!

“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom unless they are born again.” John 3:3 NIV

I have always been intrigued by the story of Nicodemus. He was a respected and well advanced religious leader and member of the San Hedrin, the Pharisee’s ruling council. However, none of his religious training or connections prepared him to meet Jesus. John 3:1-21 tells the story of Nicodemus coming to Jesus at night seeking truth that at the time he was not prepared to receive.

I am so thankful the gospel of John gives us a few more clues of how Nicodemus responded over time to his encounter with God made flesh (John 7:50-51, John 19: 39-42). When I read John chapter 3, I am convinced Nicodemus thought he was prepared to meet with Jesus, maybe even offer Jesus helpful advice to keep him from stirring up so much controversy. Yet, he finds himself confronted with a Jesus that does not make it easy, nor give answers that utilized the religious concepts Nicodemus has mastered; “You are Israel’s teacher, and yet do you not understand these things?” (John 3:10)

How many times I have felt the way Nicodemus must have that night when his assumptions about what is true came crashing down. How can we see the kingdom? Too often we assume we are in the kingdom in every way and find ourselves blind and unprepared to see what Jesus longs to reveal to us.

What was Jesus’ prescription for Nicodemus? The same that it is for each of us, we must be born again. Jesus said it this way in Matthew 18:3, “Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” I am certain that this statement means many things, but I know that it includes laying down our “expert” status. Children are usually not experts in anything. We know that children need to be taught and given guidance for just about everything. Pride can keep us blind; pride has kept me blind.

I imagine Nicodemus left that night feeling confused, perhaps frustrated. And yet, something was planted in those moments that made him hungry. It made him question himself in ways that are important. Later in John 7:50-51, we see Nicodemus speak out before the council in defense of Jesus. Finally, in John 19:39-42 we see that Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimethea both helped to make sure Jesus’ body was taken care of properly after his crucifixion.

So what is the point? Religious leaders are in need of salvation too. We need to have our assumptions crushed, our answers questioned, and our blindness exposed so that we can see the kingdom. We live in a world of religious terms and experiences that are too neatly organized. Salvation becomes an event, conversion becomes an event, even amongst charismatics (my tribe), being filled with the Holy Spirit becomes an event. I am thankful for the events on my journey, however, all these events are part of an ongoing process that takes time. The truth is, I am constantly being converted to the kingdom. That means I am often finding myself confronted with my own sin and shortcomings and then realizing Jesus is inviting me to be converted from my own delusions, into different aspects of the kingdom that He is revealing.

Everyone we are called to help, guide, or heal is on a journey as well. Principles and theology can be clean, but only as long as they are separated from reality. In the real world, life is messy. Birth is messy. It is beautiful because that messy life has so much value and potential.

Nicodemus was not nearly as put together as he thought before his encounter with Jesus. Neither am I and neither are you. But I find hope in Nicodemus because Jesus’ truth worked out in his life over time. In Greek, Nicodemus name means “the people’s victory.” When we submit to Jesus’ truth, to His life, we can experience this victory too.

We met EJ Wallace and his mom, Tina, in early April after a horrible accident (read the full story) that left EJ in the hospital with a bullet in his head. We witnessed a miracle as the Lord spared this boy’s life. And now we struggle with him as we wait for him to be restored fully.

This week I went with EJ and his mom to therapy. I observe such a happy 7 year old that is full of life and jokes. I also see a boy frustrated that he cannot complete simple tasks asked of him and a momma grieving that her once active boy was being hindered by an unforeseen injury. EJ and Tina are wedged between this beautiful miracle and the frustration of hardship ahead.

I watch as EJ tries to stand with one foot on a step and throw and catch a ball with Tina. A task any 7-year-old boy could do; one that threw him off balance time and time again. He keeps laughing and trying again, but Tina sheds a tear knowing this should not be hard for her strong, energetic son. This struggle is real; the struggle of thanking God for how far He has brought them, yet trusting that He is not finished.

We move onto speech therapy to work on processing instructions and following through on them. I observe a more child-like version of EJ in this more academic setting. He listens for the instruction and repeats it leaving out a key piece. He looks back to Tina for reassurance. The therapist reiterates the instruction and asks him again to repeat it back to her. This time he is able to recall it entirely and looks to Tina for praise. Tina has to fight tears as she watches the reality of a Traumatic Brain Injury evident in her son.

Tina and I sit and talk about what she is facing. Prior to the accident she had a great job that provided them stability and the resources they needed. Because of FMLA her job is on hold for her during this ordeal. However, if it was not for people coming around her, she acknowledges that they would not have made it. She looks forward to returning to work once EJ starts school yet has to admit that her resources are low. She knows the Lord provided such a gift in her job stability, yet the difficulty in making ends meet is almost overwhelming.

The tension between the “already” and the “not yet” is something we all have to acknowledge when longing to live Kingdom life. Is the Kingdom of God a future reality or a present reality? The answer is, “Yes” and “Yes”! The beauty is that when you look around, you see both the present and the future reality in lives like EJ’s…I see the Kingdom alive in his life, and I long to see the Kingdom fully in his life.

Awakening Fires has been honored to walk alongside Tina and EJ; here’s how you can walk with us:

Pray for the symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury to be reversed

Pray for the therapists and teachers that will be part of EJ’s recovery team

Give a financial gift to help Tina until she is back to work full time (about 1 month)

]]>My Heart is Fullhttp://awakeningfires.com/my-heart-is-full/
http://awakeningfires.com/my-heart-is-full/#respondTue, 10 Nov 2015 01:32:02 +0000http://awakeningfires.com/main/?p=184We have the honor to serve a neighborhood with an entire army of children. Our home is strategically located about 75 feet from the Hope Center. As you can imagine, the kids really enjoy being here in a safe environment. But lets not kid ourselves, they love the trips to Camp Grace, the good home cooked-food that shows up every Saturday night, and snack bags. They also love asking “Pastor Jason” for popsicles, blow-pops, chips, gum, candy, my sons bicycles, our Lego sets, the list goes on. And you know what… we love this! Our family was designed for this.

One Sunday afternoon, our yard was once again filled with children from the neighborhood. Children on bikes, children climbing trees, children playing Xbox in my living room, Legos in my sons’ room, and I think the sprinkler was running cooling all the kids off. The kids tongues and teeth we stained with various colors of the rainbow from “popsicle over load.” I noticed a change as the afternoon stretched into the evening. The fighting and striving to get the next Popsicle disappeared. The struggle for “my turn” in the various activities seemed to dissipate. Fun and crazy turned into joy and peace.

As I leaned up against my truck, I found myself fighting back tears as 7 or 8 kids busted out of the house in various super-hero costumes. Batman, Hulk, Iron man, Bible man, the Green Lantern, Thor, and Optimus Prime all forgot that it was 97 degrees. For a couple of glorious hours in Fort Hill, a handful of kids got relief from being forced to grow up too fast. The joy of being a kid over took the “dangerous” place we now call home. Belly laughs and joy-filled squeals filled my home and yard but most of all, my heart.

Many times as people learn what we are doing and where God is leading our family, the reaction is appreciation for the sacrifices they imagine we are giving up. But I just want it to be said, this is not a sacrifice, this is an honor. These children and this place is not a project, both are a treasure. The “sacrifices” are far outweighed by the reward.